Carlos Ghosn Denies Allegations of Misconduct in Tokyo Court

January 8, 2019

Tokyo--Former Nissan Motor Co. <7201> Chairman Carlos Ghosn denied all allegations of financial misconduct against him at Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, making his first public appearance since his arrest on Nov. 19.

"I am innocent of the accusations made against me. I have always acted with integrity and have never been accused of any wrongdoing in my several-decade professional career," Ghosn, 64, told the court, according to a prepared statement.

"I have been wrongly accused and unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations," he said.

"I have a genuine love and appreciation for Nissan," he also said of the Japanese automaker, the alliance partner of France's Renault SA.

He said, "I have acted honorably, legally, and with the knowledge and approval of the appropriate executives inside the company--with the sole purpose of supporting and strengthening Nissan."

Explaining reasons for detaining Ghosn, Yuichi Tada, presiding judge at the court, said there is the possibility of him destroying evidence and escaping abroad.

The defense side claimed that as Ghosn is a well-known businessman serving in positions such as Renault CEO, there is no risk of him running away or destroying evidence.

The defense side is expected to request Ghosn's release.

Ghosn allegedly shifted financial derivatives contracts with 1.85 billion yen in appraisal losses from his asset management company to Nissan's books in 2008, according to the investigation by Tokyo prosecutors.

He is also suspected of having Nissan pay a total of 14.7 million dollars to a Saudi businessman between 2009 and 2012 in exchange for his help in bringing back the derivatives contracts from the automaker.

At Tuesday's hearing, Ghosn said that the contracts were "transferred back to me without Nissan incurring any loss."

A company run by the Saudi businessman "was appropriately compensated" in exchange for its services that substantially benefited Nissan, Ghosn said.

Ghosn also denied allegations that he hid some of his executive remuneration at Nissan by deferring payments until his retirement in violation of the Japanese financial instruments and exchange law.

"Any draft proposals for postretirement compensation were reviewed by internal and external lawyers, showing I had no intent to violate the law," he said.

Ghosn was served arrest warrants on Nov. 19 and Dec. 10 for allegedly underreporting his executive pay in Nissan's financial statements. He was served another warrant on Dec. 21 for aggravated breach of trust under the Japanese companies law in connection with suspected misconduct over the derivatives contracts.

The court has approved Ghosn's detention until Friday. Jiji Press